Latest news with #KanikaGoyal
Hindustan Times
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Joy division: How Kanika Goyal is making fashion fun again
Kanika Goyal says she wishes she wasn't so ambitious. She doesn't mean it. That her business is booming is evident from the incessant activity at her four-floor studio in Faridabad. There are craftspeople working on sequinned Mickey Mouse figures for grungy T-shirts and shirt dresses. Master tailors are cutting sheaths of denim to artistically attach to the softest Chinese cotton for her signature hybrid pants. Embroiderers and patchwork experts are bringing to life playful collages. Stockkeepers are overseeing mounds of fabric that will be stashed away to be recycled creatively later. Goyal's ambition is everywhere. Kanika Goyal showcased at London Fashion Week and launched a line with Disney. (SHOT BY RAJ K RAJ) In the fashion world, Goyal is everywhere too. The 35-year-old designer is prolific, even among her Millennial peers who are creating looks for the red carpet and real life. In the last year alone, Goyal has showed her collection at London Fashion Week – presenting creased taffeta shirts, and accessories made from surplus leather, laminated crushed leather and cracked bonded taffeta. She's had a special fashion showcase in her hometown of Chandigarh, and did a themed look-book with the art collective Excise Dept, inspired by her roots in rural Punjab. She's also dropped a line of 114 pieces with Disney, which draws on her memories of watching animated classics and visiting Disneyland in Paris as a 10-year-old. The skirts, dresses and shirts feature hand embroidery and sequinned lungi checks; the denims bear endless loops of Mickey Mouse ears. It's aimed at the grown-up who prefers nostalgia with a bit of edge. Team Kanika Goyal is now 90 members strong. And her empire spans her OG eponymous label of kitschy couture (Kanika Goyal Label or KGL), an affordable casual chic line (Kilogram), collabs, as well as plans of expansion into home décor and product design. It may seem like a lot. But Goyal is more driven and hard-working than most. And she's manifested it all, she says. Bursting at the seams Goyal's designs are about finding joy in the ordinary. She backs it up with impeccable tailoring. (INSTAGRAM/@KANIKAGOYALLABEL) Goyal says she was artistic, but had an entrepreneurial streak even as a young girl in Chandigarh. Her mother encouraged her to pursue a career in fashion. But NIFT Delhi was as far from the homestead as her father was willing to let her move. She missed out on the coveted rankings for the course in fashion design, so she studied space and lifestyle accessories instead. Goyal made it work, co-founding the accessories brand Yelo in 2009 at 20, creating bags and key-chains that cost between ₹ 1,500 and ₹ 5,500. It retailed nationwide and was a hit with young women who wanted stylish looks they could afford. She was still a student. She'd tasted success. She wanted more. 'That's when I decided to go to Parsons School of Design in New York to pursue Fashion Design,' she says. Most Indian students struggle with coursework, and a side hustle to pay the rent. Goyal did all that and landed 14 internships, working with big brands such as Prada and Marchesa, and a long-term gig with renowned Odisha-born fashion designer Bibhu Mohapatra in the early 2010s. 'He wanted me to stay on, but I knew I had to return to India to start my own label,' she recalls. 'It was now or never.' Bold measures Goyal started out in 2015 with a 500 sq ft store in Delhi's Shahpur Jat 'above a halwai's shop'. So, she started out in 2015 with a small store in Delhi's Shahpur Jat 'above a halwai's shop', determined to put out youthful, free-spirited fashion that captured the moment. The T-shirts screamed with slogans: As If; That's So Rad; Super Weird. The designs were edgy and surrealist. 'We would totally be cancelled for making those statements now!' Celebrities came calling. Actors Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh and sportsmen such as Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya have championed Goyal's work through its many avatars. And unlike one-hit wonders, Goyal went back to the studio and kept refining her subversive-but-make-it-fashion formula. She held on to the idea of playfulness and finding joy in the ordinary, but backed it up with impeccable tailoring, colour-blocked fits and deconstructed pieces. 'We've now found a balance by keeping our childlike sensibility in place but introducing maturity into our clothes'. It's what got international celebrities interested too. Singer Jacob Collier has worn the Goyal label (mismatched electric brights, no less). Gen Z's favourite singer-songwriter Tyla has sported her denim-cotton hybrid co-ord sets. Halle Bailey (yes, The Little Mermaid) has rocked her high-slit jeans. Kelly Rowland, almost twice Bailey's age, has looked chic in Goyal's denim trench and matching pants. Fits of genius Goyal's recent work includes sweaters that scream Chardi Kala (a call for being positive) (INSTAGRAM/@KANIKAGOYALLABEL) Goyal's most recent work has included chunky knit sweaters bearing Punjabi epithets such as Chardi Kala (a call for being positive) and Balle (joy) in Gurmukhi. Her September 2020 capsule collection, a nod to a nation in lockdown, was titled It's OK to Put on a Few KGs, and consisted of oversized T-shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts. Her collection for New York Fashion Week in 2023, Agrestal Mind, put crazy prints on sweaters and sequinned minidresses, 'something you could wear to a rave party'. And all over Instagram, influencers have cheered her recent collection, Playfield. The line celebrates movement, imperfection and unhindered ideas: Tie-dye effect jeans, lightweight printed silk jackets, patchwork leather trench coats. It's somehow hyperlocal and international at the same time. 'Fortunately, the Indian market has evolved,' Goyal says. 'Indians would never pay ₹ 25,000 for a pair of jeans, now they do. My clients range in age from 20s to their 60s and 70s.' Everyone likes a bit of edge, it seems. Which can take its toll on a creative mind. 'I'm quite critical of myself, and the self-analysis can lead to frustration. So, I've read self-help books to develop discipline,' Goyal says. 'And I've struggled to reconcile my desire to be empathetic with my selfish interests to excel at work. So, I actively prioritise empathy.' She also still maintains a gratitude journal which she started in the pandemic when she was struggling to keep her business and her team of 20 afloat. It didn't just pull her out of a lull, it got her to focus on the small wins, and grow her brand. 'When I was younger and brimming with ideas, I had zero doubt that I would make it. That's the feeling I like to channel now too. There shouldn't be any doubt about your creativity. You have to believe in it wholeheartedly. You have to know this collection is a hit and it will be. If you have this level of clarity at the start, that's half the job done.' From HT Brunch, June 28, 2025 Follow us on
Mint
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Why labubu dolls, Disney cartoons have entered the adult wardrobe
Gift this article Open up a social media feed, and you are bombarded with blink-and-you-miss-it trends. There is one quirky movement, though, that's been enjoying a fan following among the stylish for months—the cuddly toy. Look around you—a small doll with a mischievous smile might be strapped to a work bag or a cartoon-ish motif is adding a pop of colour to a shirt in an office. Even mobile phones are getting more personality thanks to anime-inspired charm bracelets and covers. Cutesy toys and figurines in various shapes, sizes and colours from a child's world have entered the wardrobes of grown-ups. Open up a social media feed, and you are bombarded with blink-and-you-miss-it trends. There is one quirky movement, though, that's been enjoying a fan following among the stylish for months—the cuddly toy. Look around you—a small doll with a mischievous smile might be strapped to a work bag or a cartoon-ish motif is adding a pop of colour to a shirt in an office. Even mobile phones are getting more personality thanks to anime-inspired charm bracelets and covers. Cutesy toys and figurines in various shapes, sizes and colours from a child's world have entered the wardrobes of grown-ups. Fashion is tapping into 'toycore"—the marriage of fashion and cuddlies. While luxury brands like Miu Miu, Judith Leiber and Hermès have long launched toy-centric charms and bags, more designers and fast-fashion brands are offering their interpretations in clothes. Earlier this month, designer Kanika Goyal launched a limited edition collection in collaboration with Disney, aimed at adding the playfulness of Mickey Mouse and his friends to adult fashion that's fit for office, a brunch as well as an evening party. There's a two-tone jacket in denim blue and beige cotton to create concentric circles shaped like Mickey Mouse's ears that are filled with embroidery—pop culture meets streetwear. 'Disney characters are part of a shared global imagination. I grew up with them too—they weren't just cartoons. Childhood motifs act like emotional codes," Goyal says. 'We're living in a moment where people are looking for meaning and emotion in what they wear." Besides the nostalgic value and the playfulness, the other big pull of toycore fashion is the opportunity to tell the world about your personal style or current mood. One of the best-sellers of the latest collection in Kazo, a Delhi-based occasionwear fashion brand, is a white-purple striped formal shirt with prints of Bambi and Thumper. Also read: The latest trend in fashion: a show venue that tells a story 'We were also a bit surprised to learn that people are interested in a formal shirt with a cartoon than a casual T-shirt," says creative director Divya Aggarwal. Her guess is the growing confidence among consumers to wear 'conversation-starter pieces that speak of their mood and help them stand apart." Bambi and Thumper Kazo shirt Priyanka Sanghi, founder of Hair Drama Co., a homegrown luxury hair accessories boutique, offers a more detailed answer. 'Why would someone pick a charm shaped like a donut over one that's in the shape of an ice-cream? Your choice basically reflects your state of mind. Even an old bag becomes new if you add a small doll to the handle," she says. Hair Drama Co. founder Priyanka Sanghi's charms hat Her brand started offering charms over a year ago, given their rising popularity. Today, she has over 400 types of charms that can be customised for hats, hair accessories, bracelets and everything in between. In a month, they sell at least 100 charms, shaped like Barbie, palm trees, bags, cartoon characters, chillies and more. Almost half of their clients buy for themselves; the rest, for their children. 'The cartoon/toy vibe has been around for a while—look at those colourful Japanese ice-cream parlours, China's boba bars, Korea's ramen cafes. What's changed now is that toys have become mainstream. The current trend around labubus is crazy." Labubus are the viral China-made little Nordic elves with mischievous grins that many, like Sanghi, say led to the toycore fashion mania. The likes of David Beckham, Dua Lipa and Jahnvi Kapoor are all proud owners of labubus. So is Sanghi, who owns eight of them. 'It makes me feel like a child," says Sanghi, who turns 40 this year. 'I might be feeling a little down but a sight of a labubu (an original costs around ₹ 800, but can fetch up to ₹ 1 lakh on reseller sites) will instantly cheer me up; it's like having a pet. My friends are buying clothes for them." A labubu bag party in Delhi At a time when the news of war and global warming is keeping the world on edge, it's not a stretch to imagine that a cute-looking fluff ball can offer some comfort, even if momentarily. 'It's like a permission to not take everything so seriously," Goyal says. 'It speaks to a quiet, collective urge to hold on to the parts of ourselves that are still curious and unfiltered, especially in a world that's constantly asking us to be composed and contained. And there's something incredibly comforting about wearing a piece that brings you back to a simpler time, even momentarily." Also read: The salwar returns to the runway with a new look Topics You May Be Interested In
